by the time we lose the house. the american dream is dead. it's over. >> get in line. new unemployment figures out today, and it's expected the jobless rate will keep rising. target taliban. did a u.s. missile strike kill the taliban chief in pakistan? and justice okay. sonia sotomayor prepares to take her seat on the united states supreme court. captioning funded by cbs good morning, everyone.

thanks for joining us. i'm karen brown in for michelle guillen. president obama says this country is finally digging itself out of the worst recession since world war ii. we'll get a better picture today when the labor department releases the unemployment figures for july. susan roberts in washington has more. good morning, susan. >> reporter: karen, good morning to you. regardless of what we find out today, the job openings out there remain scarce, and most economists expect the unemployment rate to keep rising to 10% or higher by the end of the year. christoff miller never imagined he'd be out of work this long. >> i thought i'd go and find another job in a month at the longest. >> reporter: instead, it's been almost a year, so he's heading to houston to work for his family's roofing business. it's a field he has no experience in in a state he's never visited. >> i have to make money and pay my bills. >> reporter: analysts think the unemployment report today will be good news and bad news.

the unemployment rate is expected to reach 9.6%, up from 9.5% in june and the highest in 26 years. but while employers are still slashing jobs, the pink slips are likely slowing down. experts predict the july numbers will show the slowest pace of job losses since august of last year. president obama has urged people to be patient while his $787 billion stimulus plan takes hold. now he says there are signs it's working. >> we're losing jobs at half the rate we were last year. our financial system is no longer on the verge of collapse. >> reporter: at a rally in virginia on thursday night, the president insisted the economy is showing the very beginnings of recovery. >> the market is up. housing prices are up for the first time in nearly three years. >> reporter: it's that kind of optimism christoff miller wants to hear. he too is confident things will get better. >> when i'm in houston fixing roofs, i'll still be applying for jobs in new york. hopefully, i can come back and

hit it out of the ballpark. >> reporter: in the meantime, he's packing for texas, just one of 15 million americans out of work, doing what he can to survive. and many are hoping fewer layoffs will translate into people having more confidence in the market. they'll borrow more and spend more. >> susan roberts in washington, thank you. sonia sotomayor will be sworn in tomorrow as the 111th justice of the united states supreme court. the court's third woman and its first hispanic. sotomayor was confirmed yesterday. the vote was 68-31. all the democrats and two independents voted yes, but nine republicans also voted for sotomayor's confirmation. jill brown reports. >> reporter: just hours after making history, sonia sotomayor walked out of the federal courthouse in new york city ready for her new job. >> the nomination of sonia sotomayor of new york is confirmed. >> reporter: president obama's choice for the supreme court is the first hispanic woman elevated to that bench.

>> this is a wonderful day for judge sotomayor and her family, but i also think it's a wonderful day for america. >> reporter: the senate's vote on sotomayor's nomination comes after three days of debate over whether or not she's the right choice. sotomayor earned yes votes from every democrat and a handful of republicans, but nearly three-quarters of the gop senators refused to vote for her. they insisteded she'd bring a liberal bias and her personal feelings into the high court. >> america needs judges who are guided and controlled not by subjective empathy that they find inside themselves, but by objective law that they find outside themselves. >> reporter: sotomayor was nominated to replace retiring david david souter, a liberal justice. she is not expected to shift the balance of the high court. now the 55-year-old appeals court judge will leave behind her native new york city and move to washington, ready to

begin her lifetime appointment to the high court when the new term begins this fall. joel brown, cbs news, washington. this morning pakistan's foreign minister says he's received unconfirmed information that the taliban leader in pakistan is dead. baitullah mehsud is one of the world's most hunted terrorists. communications say that mehsud was killed in a missile strike on his father-in-law's home on wednesday. there's been no official confirmation, but an official tells cbs news there's reason to believe the report. mehsud had a $5 million bounty on his head. it's believed he's responsible for a series of suicide attacks and suspected in the assassination of former pakistan prime minister benazir bhutto. meantime, the pakistanis thought they killed at taliban leader more than a year ago, but reports of his death turned out to be premature. >> reporter: this is one of pakistan's most wanted taliban leaders and conclusive proof he

is alive. the pakistan authorities said he'd been killed ten months ago as part of their crackdown against militants, but these pictures were filmed a few days ago and showed him not only alive and well, but he has hostages. he's uma khalid, also known as abdul wali. he's taking the cameramen to see the hostages. there are four of them from the security operating in pakistan's tribal area. two more have already been killed. >> translator: we were captured three months ago. please we ask our government to help us and release taliban prisoners to free us. >> reporter: khalid says he has 35,000 fighters with him. he has a 10 million rupee bounty on his head before the government announced his death. he's now threatening to kill the hostages unless taliban prisoners are freed. >> translator: we have killed two, and we have four more. the government has 45 of our taliban in prison.

if 5 of them are freed, we are ready to negotiate. >> reporter: the news comes as the government insists its military operation has defeated the taliban in the swat valley. but the u.s. special envoy to pakistan richard holbrook has clamped down on whether the operation has really worked. there's a theory that rather than crushing the taliban, the administration has pushed them out to outer areas. this exclusive video of this wanted terrorist will only cause further embarrassment to pakistani authorities. alex crawford, sky news. across asia, violent weather. in the philippines this morning, there were heavy monsoon rains. rescuers carried a baby to safety hand over hand through rising flood waters. three villages are under water, and at least six villages have died. in taiwan, schools were closed and flights cancelled as a

typhoon bears down bringing more than 90 mile an hour winds. just ahead, more money for the cash for clunkers program. plus look out. a cop has a close call with a runaway tire. first, katie couric has a preview of tonight's "cbs evening news." >> the number of homeless people in this country is at record levels. now one city is helping them through, of all things, classic literature. could it work in yours? this is the primo stuff. one appetizer and two premium entrees. just twenty bucks-every day. genuine food. generous portions. genius price. 2 for $20! only at applebee's. as much calcium and vitamin d as milk, and so creamy smooth and bold, they'll love getting calcium and vitamin d to help bones grow. ♪ bigger (look at me) ♪ ♪ better (see me go) ♪ ♪ stronger(let it show) ♪ (announcer) new smoothies from sunny d! on tuesday i go in even earlier than usual. thank goodness for eggo, a nutri-grain waffle...

with a quick smudge of cream cheese. at least that part's easy. there's only one way to eat an eggo... your way. l'eggo my eggo.

light & fit has 80 calories versus 100 in the other leading brand. and a taste you'll find... [sluuurrrrpppp!] irresistible. now try new watermelon and cantaloupe flavors. 17 flights were diverted and as many as 300 people were stranded atd the airport. earlier, interstate 80 was cleared off after smoke dropped visibility levels dangerously low. the fire damaged at least one nearby home. near houston, texas, it was a close call for a cop during a routine traffic stop.

the police car caught the action. shows officer matthew davidson stopping to assist a motorist who had a flight tire on a bridge. as he rests his hand on the guard rail, a 200-pound tire from a truck whizes by, narrowly missing the officer. it grazed his holster. >> got a little sick to my stomach immediately afterwards. first chance i got when i got off the scene, i pulled my patrol car over and said a little prayer for the protection. >> the truck driver carrying the tire apparently didn't know what happened and never stopped. on the "cbs money watch" asian stocks were mostly lower this morning. and the cash for clunkers program gets a cash injection. claire leka is in new york with more. good morning, claire. >> good morning to you, karen. most asian markets ended in the red overnight ahead of the all important july jobs report due out this morning here in the u.s. shanghai's benchmark index tumbled more than 3%.

hong kong stocks slumped 1.66%. japan's nikkei was the low winner, managing to eke out a gain of .25%. on wall street, investors on edge ahead of the government's official july jobs tally. the dow jones industrial average starts the day off 24 points. the tech heavy nasdaq begins lower by 19, or 1%. the senate voted to pop another $2 billion into cash for clunkers, the popular rebate program would have run out of gas today without new funds. president obama plans to sign the measure, which could allow another 500,000 car owners to trade in their gas guzzlers for more fuel efficient cars with the new funding. government rebate offer should be good through labor day. in just 140 characters, twitter went down today. for the social networking site's approximately 30 million users, life even for a few hours without the popular service

meant no tweeting about breaking news, work, or the fact that twitter wasn't working. both twitter and face book were temporarily disrupted thursday morning after they were struck by apparently coordinateded computer attacks starting around 9:00 a.m. eastern time. if anyone needs change for a dollar, they should head to dallas. in fact, there's change for several hundred dollars on the street thanks to an armored car accident. yesterday morning several bags loaded with quarters fell off the armored car. $1,500 worth of quarters spilled out. a cleanup crew had to close the street for about 30 minutes while they swept up and picked up the loose change. karen? >> claire leka here in new york. thank you. straight ahead, your friday morning weather. and in sports, new york ends a season long drought against the red sox. introducing smoothies

from sunnyd ! as much calcium and vitamin d as milk, and so creamy smooth and bold, they'll love getting calcium and vitamin d to help bones grow. ♪ bigger (look at me) ♪ ♪ better (see me go) ♪ ♪ stronger(let it show) ♪ (announcer) new smoothies from sunny d! [ announcer ] you make healthy choices every day-- oh, max! and you want to do the same for your laughable, lovable dog. [ barks ] that's why purina fit & trim is specially formulated... with high-quality protein, including delicious real chicken,

to help him maintain lean muscle and a healthy weight, so he can make the most of every day. long live your buddy. long live your dog. purina fit & trim. here's a look at the weather in some cities around the country. new york, sunny, 78. miami, afternoon thunder, 90. chicago, partly cloudy, 77. denver, sun and clouds, 90. los angeles, sunny and 80. time now for a check on the national forecast. the latest satellite picture shows that skies are mainly cloudy over the northwest. there are thunderstorms rumbling across the northern plains.

later today the south sweats in 90 degree heat. thunderstorms will extend from the central rockies to the upper midwest. it will remain cool and gray for most of the northwest. temperatures will be cool and below sews anable levels. in sports, it took nine games, but the yankees beat the red sox for the first time this season. boxing great muhammad ali was honored before the game, but last night it was the yankees who pounded the sox. melky cabrera and jorge posada both hit three-run home runs as the yankees beat boston 13-6, taking a 3 1/2 game lead in the a.l. east. in the national league, andre ethier gave the dodgers a five-run win over the braves. it was the dodgers' first walk-off hit of the season. cliff lee pitched six impressive innings in his home debut for the phillies, striking out nine rockies. he was acquired from cleveland last week. in basketball, orlando's rashard lewis has been sus ppend

for the first ten games of the season. lewis said he took an over the counter substance that he said didn't know contained a substance banned by the nba. and a death defying raccoon and a ladder that couldn't quite reach. the animal climbed 110 feet up a support pole and clung there since wednesday. rescuers coaxed him off the pole yesterday. with some prodding, the animal extended a paw. but everyone gasped. the little creature fell the last 40 feet. animal control officers scooped it up unharmed. later they set it free. i'm sure he had quite a story to tell his friends. when we return, gearing up for battle against the h1n1 flu virus as kids return to school. and don't walk this way. aerosmith singer steven tyler takes a bad fall. nfinity. ♪ it's astonishingly flexible.

♪ unbelievably soft. ♪ and has an amazing material... that's 4x more absorbent than you may need. making fluids seem to... poof... disappear. just like magic. ♪ always infinity. have a happy period. discover a smoothie like no other! new activia smoothies. creamy, delicious, and above all, it contains bifidus regularis and is clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system. new activia smoothies. ♪ activiaaa! on fridays, i have hockey before school, so i take two eggo homestyle waffles and put peanut butter inside. i add a couple chocolate chips when dad's starting the car. there's only one way to eat an eggo -- your way. l'eggo my eggo.

on the "cbs morning news," here's a look at today's weather. thunderstorms rumbling across the plains. cool and gray for much of the northwest. and clear from the ohio valley to much of northern new england. here's another look at this morning's top stories. unemployment figures for july are due out today. the labor department is expected to report job losses are slowing but unemployment continues to rise. 15 million americans are out of work. the leader of the taliban in pakistan is dead, according to pakistani intelligence officers. baitullah mehsud is believed to be killed in a u.s. missile strike wednesday, but there's no official confirmation. and sonia sotomayor will be sworn in as the supreme court's first hispanic justice tomorrow. she was confirmed by the senate yesterday. federal health officials will put out guidelines this morning for ways to prevent and

manage the h1n1 virus. more than 1 million americans have come down with it now. the timing is critical as the new school year begins in parts of the nation next week. dr. jon lapook has more. >> reporter: as kids get ready to return to school, schools are getting ready for the return of the new h1n1 virus. here in los angeles, that means gearing up to protect the district's 688,000 students. >> we believe the most important strategy we can have right now is preparedness. to prevent the spread of disease such as good hand washing, cough etiquette, meaning you cover your cough, staying home if you're sick, and just really healthy. >> reporter: guidelines are expected to emphasize keeping healthy kids in school. decisions about whether to close will be left to the individual districts. over 700 schools closed during the initial outbreak, but experts question the benefit now that the virus has already infect at least 1 million americans. >> closing schools in order to

prevent spread might have an effect very early on in an epidemic, slowing down the spread, but once things get going, closing schools really don't have much of an effect. >> reporter: whether the schools close down or not, they need a plan to deal with the h1n1 because the virus is hitting children and young adults the hardest. atlanta's public schools opened their doors on monday and are working with the makers of a han sanitizer to teach flu prevention. >> we sent out h1n1 bulletins to all of our principals at school, and those flyers will be disseminated to students the first day. >> reporter: students coming down with the h1n1 virus will most likely be told to stay home from school for seven days. aerosmith singer steven tyler is recovering from head, neck, and shoulder injuries after he fell off a stage. amateur video shows tyler performing at a concert in sturges, south dakota, when he fell from the stage. a witness says tyler's head was

bleeding. a concert tour stop in winnipeg today has been postponed. education secretary arnie duncan on protecting kids from the h1n1 flu as they go back to school. i'm karen brown. this is the "cbs morning news." diabetics on medicare! i'm a diabetic and i want you to know over 230,000 u.s. doctors have authorized their patients to receive their diabetic supplies through liberty medical. and that begins with the one touch®ultra2 meter. easy to use, fast results... at no additional cost! liberty helps keep you on track by delivering diabetic supplies to your door... and filing your claims. i never feel i'm going to run out of anything. with liberty i always have someone to talk to and now they refill all my prescriptions. call now to receive a diabetic cookbook free. call to receive the one touch®ultra2 meter at no additional cost and find out why 230,000 u.s.

doctors and over a million people with diabetes trust liberty medical. liberty, we deliver better health. call now. call liberty medical at the number on your screen.

. it's friday. 20 seconds awaym